


Easier All The Time

by h_nb



Series: Asher [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Captivity, Collars, Conditioning, Dehumanization, Non-Sexual, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Panic, Pet, Pet whump, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, master - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26776864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_nb/pseuds/h_nb
Summary: Whumptober Day Two: CollarsIntroducing (to ao3) my OCs Asher and Dr. Magnus.Heavy warning for pet whump and dehumanization/conditioning.
Series: Asher [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952164
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Easier All The Time

Asher felt barely aware of anything these days. The hours passed in a blurry haze, visually and mentally. He had been afraid for so long that he had almost become used to it, this buzzing underneath his skin, every instinct telling him to act, and every word he heard reminding him that he couldn't.

Not unless he wanted the blurry haze to twist and fade and open up again underneath bright lights, the smell of sterile alcohol and rubber gloves. Not unless he wanted to be opened up himself, pain tearing through his body as he writhed on the metal table that was so cold against his bare skin, unable to make a single sound unless it was what Hewanted to hear.

He was getting better, Asher thought distantly. The last time had been shorter, it seemed, though he knew he couldn't trust his own sense of time any longer, he only had -- no, he couldn't, can't think of Him like that, not inwardly, he'll speak it, but he won't think it --

He only had their captor to rely on for the time of day, attempting to learning the routine he was being taught, when to follow, when to kneel.

His knees ached all the time now, but that too was starting to fade with their fear, pressed in the back of his mind as a sensation he couldn't focus on feeling, there were too many other things he had to watch for, to make sure he was doing it all correctly, and somehow, desperately in all of this, trying to find a way to escape this damn place.

A sob wormed its way to Asher's throat, making his jaw tremble with the effort of keeping it suppressed. No outward sign of being upset, those had stopped being allowed the first week. No speaking, if he did, none of that stammering that had come back with his persistent fear.

The hand in his hair stopped, and Asher went very still, staring with wide, unfocused eyes up at the blobs he figured were light fixtures. There was the sound of the book closing, and his captor was shifting slightly, hand sliding underneath Asher's head. After a moment of frozen panic, Asher remembered to sit up, legs folding under each other, lower body already beginning to pulse with a now-familiar ache. He stared as attentively as he could at the man who's expressionless face he could only barely make out, pale hair falling neatly behind his shoulders as he observed Asher.

Asher always felt like he was under some kind of microscope around this man, whether he was kneeling here like he was now or if he was on that lab table, he never escaped from that feeling of his every movement being observed, scrutinized, and examined.

Sometimes that feeling faded, but it was never actually gone, only faded to the back of his mind just like his fear and the aches in his knees.

His captor's face gave nothing away as he stood, speaking to Asher in a calm tone. "Stay here, pet."

Asher stayed perfectly still until the man had left the room. Then his fingers spasmed, digging into the fabric of his pants, fingernails curling into his thigh. That word still make his skin crawl with revulsion, kick-started that fear throughout his body again. He couldn't fully hide his reaction, still, and his captor knew that just as well as he did. The only question was how long Asher had before he was taken back down to the basement for that reaction.

His heart continued to race, beating hard against his chest, and his mind constructed words made from pure fear, bouncing around in his skull, screaming.

_he's not here he's not here RUN run run go go go_

Asher shut his eyes, biting his lip to suppress another sob, twisting his hands more against his legs. Trying to run would only end the same way it had the last several times, with Asher scrambling to unlock the door, with his captor grabbing him, sticking another needle in his arm, and with Asher waking up to blinding lights and pain that never ended as long as those lights shone on him.

He stayed. Just like he was told.

His stomach turned, and Asher bit his lip hard, suddenly flooding his mouth with the sharp taste of blood. His eyes flared wide, certain that this was another mistake he had just made.

Before he could try and fix it or figure out what else to do, the sound of footsteps alerted him to the return of his-- his captor, who crossed the roof efficiently to the couch Asher knelt upon.

His hands had unclenched from his pants, but there was no hiding the wrinkles in the fabric, or the split skin on Asher's lip from his own teeth. Asher sucked in a breath, doing his best to keep tears from welling in his eyes as the other man ran a hand across Asher's leg, smoothing out that fabric, before gently cupping his face and extracting Asher's bottom lip from behind his teeth. "What happened?" he asked, affectless, but not uncaring.

"I-- stayed-- still. Like y--ou said." Asher swallowed, and felt his captor's fingers against his throat as he did so. "M-master." His shoulders stiffened at the stutter, fighting hard against the nausea in his gut.

"Good." Asher should've hated how that small word of praise sent relief throughout his body, but his arm wasn't being pulled forward, there was no sharp pinch of the needle into a vein, and so Asher let his shoulders drop ever so slightly, waiting for whatever his captor was going to do next.

His eyes tracked the other man's hands as it dropped from his face, reaching to his side to pull something forward. A thick, black strip, and in the middle hung a silver loop. Asher squinted at it, heart dropping into his stomach as his brain connected the blurry vision to an object he recognized.

His mouth parted a little further, a question on his lips as his captor wrapped the collar around his throat, securing it firmly against the back of his neck. Heat rushed to Asher's cheeks and he was unable to stop the tears from pooling in the corners of his eyes. "Wh- wha--" his voice trembled, barely able to push a word out. "Wha- wh- what--"

"Shh." Asher's lips shut instantly, pressed together tightly even as they shook. His whole body shivered in abject fear as a finger hooked in the loop of his collar and dragged him ever so slightly forward. "There. Now everyone will know what you are."

_go go GO RUN RUN RUN_

Asher had no words that would make the other man happy, and could only stare with eyes that leaked silent tears, blurring his vision even more.

"If you keep being good, I will return your glasses." Asher blinked in surprise as the pale-haired man brushed the tears from his eyes. "Do you like your collar, pet?"

It would be a lie. They both knew it. Asher only had so long to make that lie sound real before the other would stop pretending to believe him.

"Yes, Master," he murmured. Saying that got easier every time, as long as he pushed aside every other thought, fear, and worry.


End file.
